


Here I Stay

by TheRedGlass



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Baby It's Cold Outside, Christmas, F/M, Ficlet, Oneshot, Prompt Fill, Tumblr Prompt, Whump, but it ends well I promise, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 11:42:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7572823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRedGlass/pseuds/TheRedGlass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The ship is going down, Natasha is bleeding in his arms, and Clint refuses to leave her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Here I Stay

**Author's Note:**

> I asked my followers to send me a ship and a Christmas song and I'd write a short fic for them. This one was Clintasha + Baby It's Cold Outside and I made it angsty oops.

The frigate is filled with holes now, a formerly proud hulking ship now sulking almost in pieces. It’s taking on frigid water at an alarming rate, but that isn’t what has Clint most concerned.

His biggest concern is Natasha, lying prone in his lap in what’s left of the communications center, taking small weak gasps of air as blood trickles from her side, her face, her chest. He’s plugging a wound with his hand but there’s just so much blood and a panic is thrashing in his chest.

They’ve neutralized the enemy agents, but the ship was a casualty resulting from the fight and normally it wouldn’t be a concern but now they are in wide open ocean, having discovered that the ship is outfitted with deceptive radar cloaking technology that was activated shortly after they managed to get on board - which means that they are sinking in waters over 150 miles southeast of where SHIELD is looking for them.

This deafeningly silent metal cavern may be their tomb.

He’s trying to just focus on one thing at a time, on the most important thing - Natasha - when his partner stirs weakly and struggles for enough air and strength to form words. “You should…go,” she manages, her voice a soft choking sound. “There’s…dinghies…up…”

“No,” he says instantly, cutting her off firmly. “I’m not going without you.”

“Clint-”

“I said no,” he says again, raising his voice just enough to make his intent clear but not enough to make her feel like he’s yelling at her. He adjusts his pressure on the major wound he has covered with his hand and she winces and he hates hurting her but if he doesn’t at least slow the bleeding down, she won’t have a chance at all. If - when - SHIELD finds them.

“Come on,” he says, seeing her eyes start to droop shut. He strokes her hair, her cheek. “Nat, you gotta stay with me. Just…talk to me okay?”

She makes a thin little grunt of acknowledgment but no other sound and her eyes keep shutting.

“Nat,” he says firmly, tapping her cheek. “Come on. Um…tell me…tell me the containment procedures for a level four breach incident involving civilians.”

She struggles to open her eyes and somehow manages to give him a dirty look.

“No, no, you’re right,” he apologizes quickly. “That’s a dumb idea, that’s too much thinking. Um…” An idea suddenly hits him and maybe it’s only slightly less dumb than his first attempt but he has to try. “Okay, how about a little duet then?”

Another, slightly less dirty look.

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” he says with a brightness that he doesn’t feel. “Here, like this.” He clears his throat and does an attempt at Natasha’s voice. “I really can’t stay.” Then he switches back to his own. “But baby it’s cold outside.”

“Clint…”

“Come on, there’s no one to hear us be off key!”

She looks at him with tired exasperation.

He looks right back at her with a desperate optimism.

She sighs. “I don’t know…the lyrics.”

“Of course you do,” he scoffs. “Tony’s been prancing around Stark Tower for two weeks singing it at the top of his lungs, doing both parts when he can’t get Pepper to join in.”

“You’re…really set on this.”

“Yes.”

“Fine,” she sighs. She takes a moment to summon her strength, and slowly, quietly sings “I’ve got to…go away.”

Clint is hit with the double meaning of those words right now, knowing how easily she could slip away, and he quickly sings, “Baby, it’s cold outside.”

“This…evening has been…”

“Been hoping that you’d drop in-”

“So very…nice.”

“I’ll hold your hands, they’re just like ice.” Clint frees a hand and takes hers alarmed to find them just as he’d sung. But he buries the fear as best he can, and he sends frantic mental messages to SHIELD, hoping against all evidence that somehow they’d managed to get a signal through earlier before every electronic aboard the ship was fried beyond recognition.

He keeps her singing, making his voice louder whenever her eyelids start to droop again. Part of him accepts it as a futile exercise, that this is really the end for them, and he is prepared to go down on this ship, holding Natasha until their last moments. He sings as his voice gets hoarse and his hand starts to cramp from holding her wound closed.

And as he sees her eyelids slide shut for what he fears will be the last time, there suddenly comes the merciful sound of plane engines and suddenly a SHIELD rescue crew is lasering their way right through the hulk as the first water begins to trickle into the room.

~

His injuries are minor. For once. They let him out of the SHIELD infirmary in record time but he doesn’t go far. Natasha is in surgery for a worryingly long time. And then someone finally comes out and says she’s going to be okay and he nearly weeps right there in front of the doctors and everybody but he holds it together long enough to make it to her bedside before he crawls into a nearby chair and has an utter breakdown. Eventually, he falls asleep.

And he’s woken by the soft sound of “There’s bound to be talk tomorrow…”

His head snaps up and he stares at Natasha with tears standing in his eyes and she manages a small weak smile. “Come on Barton,” she says. “Don’t leave me hanging. And you were flat on that last line.”


End file.
